DIRTYBIRD 10, Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, Kill Frenzy, J Phlip, Christian Martin, Worthy
Mezzanine
02/06/2015 09:00 PM PST
$10 before 11PM // $20 after
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Claude VonStroke
Claude VonStroke does not scowl and look mean while he DJs. He does not pretend to know everything and he will be nice to you and your friends. He is grateful to be doing music for a living and he knows that the reason people go to parties is to have fun. If you want to act cool and not have any fun then please do not book him.
The name "Claude VonStroke" was a random joke that caught on after a series of tracks grabbed the attention of underground dance music in 2005. His very first record, "Deep Throat," was an unusually quirky affair that caught fire worldwide and he has been blessed with similar success stories ever since. Claude's real name is Barclay Crenshaw, a guy raised in the suburbs Detroit who wanted to be a filmmaker but always had a knack for music. After several different film careers of varying success and with some help from his friends, VonStroke started the "dirtybird" label at the very late age of 32.
Since 2005, dirtybird has carved out a niche as a premiere American label and has released over 40 EPs. VonStroke has released two artist albums as well as a Fabric mix and over 25 remixes for a wide range of commercial and underground artists from Indy rock group "The Rapture" to Detroit techno legend Kevin Saunderson.
In an effort to give something back to the community VonStroke unveiled a new label "mothership" in 2007. A large percentage of the label's proceeds go to a music school for children in Claude's hometown of Detroit, Michigan. This label features more euro-flavored techno and house featuring groups like Catz 'n Dogz, Maetrik and Voodeux.
Tour wise, Claude has headlined almost every major club, festival and basement after-party in the world. The outdoor dirtybird parties in San Francisco's scenic Golden Gate Park have also become a legendary summer destination point for both locals and international travelers.
But like we said at the start, Claude VonStroke is only coming to see you if you want to enjoy yourself and get sweaty and nasty. If you want to wear a sweater and frown in the VIP section, he is not the right DJ for you.
Justin Martin
As the late Oscar Wilde once said: "life is too important to be taken seriously", an ethos that Justin Martin is sticking with despite achieving soaring success over the last six years as a producer and international DJ.
Justin initially pricked the ears of the electronic music community in 2003 with his first record 'The Sad Piano' on Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly label. Everyone in the electronic music food chain got involved, from the A list DJs like Derrick Carter and Pete Tong that were playing the track, to the international music press that were raving about it. It even translated to the German underground, with Poker Flat licensing it for Steve Bug's 'Bugnology' compilation. Like someone that goes bowling for the first time and gets five strikes and a turkey, Justin couldn't really have hoped for a better entrance.
Feeding off the energy of the San Francisco underground and mentored by fellow super producer Claude VonStroke, Justin was intrinsically involved with the development of dirtybird records, appearing on its first four releases. Justin was soon ready to take flight, releasing a string of solo EPs which flaunted a very unique sound and garnered still more respect among fellow DJS and heavyweight's of the scene.
In 2010, such respect prompted an invitation for Justin to DJ mix Pete Tong's infamous "Essential Mix" series and also landed his felicitous placement on the front cover of DJ Magazine. Justin continued to roll out two further killer EPs on dirtybird, which were collaborations with his protégée Ardalan. "Mr Spock" earned recognition from major digital news outlet NPR as "surrounding sounds with tactful little details: the hissing white noise; that chubby, wet bass kick. This is music that doesn't need to be heard on the dance floor, though it does work awfully well there". What followed was "Lezgo", which knocked down the genre walls and pretty much remained a firm fixture in every DJ's box throughout 2011.
As well as his formidable arsenal of original productions, Justin is now equally known for his collaborations with his brother Christian as The Martin Brothers, producing such hip-hop influenced hits as 'Duckface', 'Stoopit', 'Dum'. Justin has also made his mark remixing such bona fide classics as Radiohead's 'Nude', Marshall Jefferson's 'Mushrooms', TG's 'Revox' and remixes for labels such as Fools Gold and Greco Roman, firmly establishing himself as the man to make big tracks even bigger.
2011 found Justin in the perfect position to work on his boldest project to date, his debut artist album and he couldn't be more enthusiastically happy with the results. "Ghettos & Gardens" long player will be released on dirtybird late spring 2012, with a string of stunning singles to support the release.
Demand for Justin's skills behind the decks has skyrocketed with his bookings schedule constantly crammed to capacity. With dates everywhere from Panorama Bar (Berlin), Fabric (London), Space (Ibiza) and a full album tour for summer and fall 2o12, its no wonder Justin's diary is reading like the dreams of a professional raver. Stateside he continues to be a regular fixture at the dirtybird events in San Francisco and beyond.
Music journalists typically describe Justin's sound as 'melodic and tough' with his music encapsulating both melody and emotional depth yet always with enough undeniable ass shaking properties to translate to the floor.
"I'm always trying to find music for my DJ sets that rattles sound systems, but still has enough melody and interesting texture to expand your mind even if you're sitting at home on a snowy or rainy day."
He remains as enthusiastic as ever to be involved in the scene. When recently questioned by Resident Advisor on what he'd be doing if he wasn't a DJ or dance music producer he just replied: "Wishing I was a DJ or music producer."
By all accounts it's hard to tell him to wipe that smile off his face.
Kill Frenzy
Kill Frenzy (aka Sébastien) is a young dj producer from Limburg, Belgium. He worked his way into the production game rather fast after at age 17 discovering the fast dirty booty house tracks comming from Chicago and detroit. He started to make his own nasty tracks and was one of the first European juke (booty house) producers to release several booty house tracks on the infamous Dust Traxx label (Chicago) and the lengendary Dj Godfather's label Juke trax (Detroit)
Not wanting to limit himself to just one style he started working on producing various styles including;House,techno,tech-house,minimal etc… His first ep was picked up immediatly by Joshua Harvey, better known as: Hervé of The Count of Monte Cristal. Harvey signed Kill Frenzy to his well known and well respected Cheaper thrills(UK) label. He then released several EP's and remixes on Cheap thrills and Midnight Munchies, always keeping some of that original booty shaking flavour in his tracks and now with his release on Dirty Bird records(USA) he is making booty's clap from east to west.
J Phlip
J Phlip (pronounced J Flip) known to some as Jessica Phillippe discovered house music in her hometown of Champaign, Illinois, just 2 hours south of Chicago. Sometime around her 19th birthday she got her first DJ rig - two belt drive turntables and a mixer lacking EQ knobs for $100 bucks! From then on, her poor roomates were forced to listen to a constant dance party in-between her Systems Engineering studies. There aren't a lot of 4.0 braniac engineering majors who decide to become DJs instead of cashing in on their degrees but Jessica truly loves the music and has dedicated her life to it. Her proximity to Chicago's famous house scene tremendously affected her sound, but the distance afforded her the freedom to incorporate a variety of other influences into her repertoire. Her sets posses a fun, "lets-not-forget-this-is-dance-music," feeling and simultaneously keep you guessing about what might come next. Her collection spans house, tech house, deep house, techno, booty bass and pretty much anything that make you shake your ass. She's currently a well known DJ/Producer in San Francisco. Her skills on the decks and in the studio have secured her highly desirable spot as an official member of the dirtybird crew. She has a residency at San Francisco's infamous Endup nightclub, which is notorious for its non-stop, never-ending parties. Jessica continues to have new productions coming out on dirtybird where she has signed on as an exclusive original artist. She is currently Claude VonStroke's favorite support DJ and has already played at amazing high profile gigs like Fabric, Space Ibiza & Back to Basics. She was also chosen for URB Magazine's Next 100 of 2009 and had a big year in 2010, spending half of the year in Berlin and Touring Europe. Look out for lil Phlip near you - she WILL be making asses shake on the dancefloor and she's just as excited about it as the day she got her belt drives!
Christian Martin
Since 1995, Christian Martin has been exploring electronic music from one end of the earth to the other; from full-moon parties in the deserts of California to the thumping, dark corners of the London club scene. Christian followed his love for spleen-rattling bass to San Francisco in 2000, where he met up with the now legendary dirtybird crew. The dirtybird BBQ was the brainchild of the four original members " Christian & his brother Justin Martin, and friends Claude VonStroke and Worthy. They had a personal mission to change the landscape of San Francisco house music by throwing an epic free party in the park, based on their new signature sound.
In 2003, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, Christian bought a massive yet necessary sound system on his credit card. This set the standard for a new era of die-hard dedicated DIY producers, all with productions based on heavy bass-lines, smiling faces and dance floor delights.
In 2006, Christian began releasing a steady stream of tracks, first collaborating with Justin under the Martin Brothers alias, as well as Claude VonStroke. The Martin Brothers partnership has produced such hip-hop influenced hits as Duckface, Stoopit, & Dum, as well as remixes for Ed Banger and Fool's Gold. On his own, he's released his own brand of bassy house music on labels such as dirtybird, Trapez, and Anabatic. His low end take on tech house has led to remixes for musical heavyweights such as Chromeo, Underworld, L-Vis 1990, and many more.
Christian's devotion to large scale bass has allowed him to champion the dirtybird sound out of the park and onto giant soundsystems at clubs and festivals worldwide. From Fusion (Germany) to Shambhala (Canada), to Coachella & Symbiosis (US), there's a constant demand for what he describes as bass from the ground up. In San Francisco, Christian is a resident at dirtybird's raucous quarterly party at Mezzanine; and also at Monarch, the newly opened marvel of a club. His new musical alias Leroy Peppers has recently roared to life, offering an even heavier take on hip-hop influenced bass music. Whether it be Leroy or Christian behind the decks, if your hands aren't clapping your ass surely will be.
Worthy
When it comes down to all the press and hype, his name says it all. He is Worthy. With an in-depth knowledge of production, mixing, and performance, Worthy has the insight to play for his audience, cultivating intense positive energy on the dance floor that can only be portrayed as superhuman. His sound can be described as organic breakbeats with a mix of future house, 80's, booty bass, and techno. As Carl Cox said, "The Worthy sound has always been powerful, rocking, funky, bass-driven music at its best, and for me this is the new wave in house music." Worthy has received the recognition of major producers who have played his tracks including Sven Vath, Diplo, and Richie Hawtin, among many.
From salty aired islands to dark club basements, Worthy pays reverence to the traditional form of classic house while tripping off the mark and sinking into the euphoric less-charted territories of booty-clapping bass. Touring the globe, Worthy has performed at renowned venues like Hive in Switzerland, Sankeys in the UK, Electric Pickle in Miami, and Mezzanine in San Francisco. Beloved by his fanatical devotees, Worthy has drawn huge crowds to catch his heart-palpitating, sweat-inducing sets at festivals like Coachella, Ultra, Love Parade, and Burning Man. In 2011, Urb Magazine named Worthy one of the Top DJ's To See at Burning Man, along with M.A.N.D.Y., Andy C, Soul Clap, Seth Troxler, and The Crystal Method.
Growing up in Washington DC, Worthy was inspired by the early American rave scene. Upon moving to New York in the late 90's, he was exposed to artists like LTJ Bukem and Stacey Pullen whose music inspired him to play records across multiple genres, from techno and breaks to hiphop and drum n' bass. In 2001 he swapped coastlines, moving to San Francisco to pursue his music career. He team up with Claude VonStroke as well as fellow east coast brothers Justin and Christian Martin to create the prodigious outdoor party, Dirtybird, which quickly became an institution and a requisite destination for die-hard Bay Area and international fans. Dirtybird Records hatched from the popularity of these parties in 2005, and since then the label and parties have enjoyed tremendous success fueled by the obsession of their cult following.
In 2007 Worthy's breakout track, Irst Te, released on Dirtybird, quickly established his notoriety as a producer. Concurrently, Worthy released Crack El EP on Leftroom, and soon after, the track Work The Walls and it's accompanying music video on his personal label, Anabatic Records. Originally intended as an outlet for the release of his own music, Anabatic quickly branched out to sign new artists. Riding the frontlines of today's music scene, Anabatic Records has been providing a steady stream of edgy, high quality tracks.
In recent years, Worthy has produced a consistent slough of top releases. The release of Worthy & Yankee Zulu's Concumbia charted in the Top 10 on Beatport for tech house in 2009. He also released various tracks and remixes on Discobelle Records. In the fall of 2011, Worthy teamed up with UK producer Eats Everything. Their first track, Tric Trac, released on Dirtybird received industry praise. Played by artists like Diplo, Boyz Noise, and Cats N' Dogs, Tric Trac wildly grew in fan appeal moving on to become one of the Top 10 on Beatport for tech house once again. Additionally, Worthy's simultaneous releases, No Cure and With This combine dirty ass-clapping breaks and gritty synths. The pinball effect of his intricate basslines traverse across the cavern of your ear canal moving inward and blowing your mind. Illustrating the diverse juxtaposition of his range and sound, his February 2012 release, Why You Waiting, on Alive Records, is like glassy water on a quiet morning sea, his beats & melodies mirroring each other, creating a melodic interface that warms the soul. As Worthy states "I want to push my new sound, which is leaning more toward a breakbeat old-school vibe, but still want to keep with the fact that I play house and techno. My focus is to stay innovative and authentic and to continually reinvent myself as an artist."
Worthy has an original flavor that will amp you up, leaving you feigning for more. The synchronization of Worthy's music speaks to the connoisseur, the DJ, the groupie and the novice alike. Finding balance and unison across all electronic music platforms, his music is unparalleled. He reads his crowd, breaking and fusing genres, blending styles, and establishing an energetic dance floor camaraderie that makes even the most skeptic hater's booty shake.
Venue Information
Mezzanine
444 Jessie St
San Francisco, CA 94103
http://www.mezzaninesf.com/calendar.asp